Berlin, between the two world wars. When an executive at the renowned Ufa film studios is found dead floating in his office bathtub, it falls to Nikolai Hoffner, a chief inspector in the Kriminalpolizei, to investigate. With the help of Fritz Lang (the German director) and Alby Pimm (leader of the most powerful crime syndicate in Berlin), Hoffner finds his case taking him beyond the world of film and into the far more treacherous landscape of Berlin’s sex and drug trade, the rise of Hitler’s Brownshirts (the SA), and the even more astonishing attempts by onetime monarchists to rearm a post-Versailles Germany.

Being swept up in the case are Hoffner’s new lover, an American talent agent for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and his two sons: Georg, who has dropped out of school to work at Ufa, and Sascha, his angry, older son, who, unknown to his father, has become fully entrenched in the new German Workers Party as the aide to its Berlin leader, Joseph Goebbels.

Shadow and Light is brilliant and atmospheric, hard to put down or shake off. Like Joseph Kanon or Alan Furst, Rabb magically fuses a smart, energetic narrative with layers of fascinating, vividly documented history. The result is a stunning historical thriller, created by a writer to celebrate—and contend with.

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Listener Opinions

by Naomi | 2/16/2014

" This writer is so enigmatic that it is not really that enjoyable to figure out what he is alluding to. His stories would be very intriguing except for that. "

by Joy | 2/12/2014

" I realize a mystery needs plot twists and mcguffins, but this one is inscrutable. Furthermore, in this book, the policeman doesn't seem to be working with or for the Kriminalpoliz. He has no partner or supervisor and appears to be more of a private investigator except for one visit to his office near the end of the book. All the plot twists did not add up to one good mystery but rather a confusing snarl. Even after I read the explanation given by Herr Hugenberg,the apparent deus ex machina, I did not understand the why of all the events. "

by David Minor | 2/3/2014

" Jonathan Rabb's novel "Shadow and Light" is a detective mystery set within the realm of WWII-era film industry of Berlin. This is notable because it makes good use of heightened realism by using real life people as characters within his story. This is a good way of establishing the world this is set in, and makes the mystery found within even more intriguing. "

by Trilby | 1/31/2014

" I started this with some trepidation after my encounter with Rabb's "The Book of Q." This historical novel, however, turned out to be a tightly plotted, atmospheric mystery. The film industry, sex trade(straight and gay), criminal underworld, and of course Nazis all play a role in this novel of 1920s Berlin. The protagonist, Kriminal-Oberkommisar Nikolai Hoffner, wends his way through a labyrinthine set of leads as he investigates the suspicious death of a German film studio executive. Rabb seamlessly interweaves the story of Hoffner's investigation with historical fact. For example, half-Jewish Fritz Lang is shown to have a strained relationship with his bland-blond aristocratic Nazi wife, an accurate depiction. The vast majority of the story is told via dialogue, of which Rabb is a master. In this book Rabb has largely avoided long stretches of snore-inducing background material, as he did in "Q." Instead, the action is packed within a period of only five days, with Hoffner reeling from lead to lead, trying to figure out which are false, and which characters are playing him. The scenes with his two estranged sons are either filled with tension or sadness. Hoffner has no idea how to reconnect with either boy, and his efforts are heartbreaking to see. Similarly, he has difficulty showing affection towards women and frequently prefers walking out rather than engaging emotionally. Rabb does a fine job of sketching the dark,ominous world of post-WW I Berlin, where criminals, fascists, communists, and ruthless business people struggled for control of the city, and no one seemed to care who got stomped on, sometimes literally. "

" Why, oh, why could I not get into this book. Fritz Lang - creator of Metropolis and 'M'? UFA? Slightly pre-WWII detective fiction with tantalizing details of modern cinema's revolution? Tell me why I couldn't concentrate on this novel! Maybe it was the porn aspect... "

Isa | 1/27/2014

" great book---(thanks Nicolette)--who would have thought that Fritz Lang aided in a criminal investigation... "

Maureen Mitchell | 1/15/2014

" A good read about pre-Nazi Berlin. "

Viola | 1/9/2014

" Looks at sound talkies film change over. "

Gail Strickland | 1/2/2014

" I must admit that I was totally lost from the get-go with this book. I'm hoping it was only me not paying enough attention and not the writer being deliberately obtuse. "

Dave | 12/30/2013

" Way too complicated for me. "

Jim | 12/21/2013

" Good mystery story set in Berlin. Rabb builds his mysteries around historical facts, makes for interesting reading. "

Jerome | 12/20/2013

" It may be that I liked this book as much as I did because I have read a lot about this era in Germany and am of German decent. I have also seen both movies, M and Metropolis as well as the movie The Blue Angle and liked them a lot. "

Jane | 12/11/2013

" I'll give "Rosa" a chance before I dismiss Rabb. Beautiful writing but convoluted plot. I wouldn't recommend "Shadow and Fog" unless the reader is a cinema buff and amateur historian. I have enough background to keep up -- but just barely. "

Sara Miller | 9/5/2013

" A fascinating noir glimpse into Pre WWII Berlin. Enjoyable but it did drag in places - character development was... lacking. Perhaps further readings of the series will illuminate the character of Nicolai Hoffner further. "

Jon | 7/29/2013

" This is good but extremely complex noir. "

Jessica | 7/25/2013

" Similar in tone and style to Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series, but not quite as polished. I'm left wishing Rabb had turned his focus to Nikolai's fraught relationship with his children - definitely the strongest element here. "

James | 1/25/2012

" All the elements are here - A clever author, interesting history and a gripping story. Somehow though it does not come together quite in the way one would like I always felt like things were just a smidgen too complicated and convoluted. "

Ken | 7/14/2011

" Super followup to Rosa. Great research on the rise of Nazi Germany. "

" Why, oh, why could I not get into this book. Fritz Lang - creator of Metropolis and 'M'? UFA? Slightly pre-WWII detective fiction with tantalizing details of modern cinema's revolution? Tell me why I couldn't concentrate on this novel! Maybe it was the porn aspect...
"

Naomi | 2/26/2010

" This writer is so enigmatic that it is not really that enjoyable to figure out what he is alluding to. His stories would be very intriguing except for that.
"

Jerome | 2/9/2010

" It may be that I liked this book as much as I did because I have read a lot about this era in Germany and am of German decent. I have also seen both movies, M and Metropolis as well as the movie The Blue Angle and liked them a lot.
"

Dennis | 12/14/2009

" Good norish detective story set in pre-ww2 Berlin. Political intrigues spark from post ww1 treaties and startings of the Nazi party, Friz Lang and the filmmakers get pulled in. Good level of detail, seemed accurate historically and in details. Plot perhaps a little too convoluted.
"

Isa | 7/7/2009

" great book---(thanks Nicolette)--who would have thought that Fritz Lang aided in a criminal investigation...
"

Gail | 4/20/2009

" I must admit that I was totally lost from the get-go with this book. I'm hoping it was only me not paying enough attention and not the writer being deliberately obtuse.
"

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